Mazanderani language

Mazandarani
مازرونی‎ (Mazuroni)[1] طبری(Tabari)[1]
Native to	Iran (Province of Mazandaran and parts of the provinces of Alborz, Tehran, Semnan and Golestan)
Region	South coast of the Caspian Sea
Ethnicity
Native speakers	2.320 million (2019)[2] (2016)
Language family	Indo-European Indo-Iranian Iranian Western Iranian Caspian Mazandarani
Dialects	Mazandarani (Main) Mazandarani (Royan) Shahmirzadi Mazandarani-Gilaki Gorgani†
Writing system	Persian alphabet
Official status
Regulated by	None. But the Linguistic faculty of Mazandaran University officially gathers materials and resources about it.
Language codes
ISO 639-3	Either: mzn – Mazandarani srz – Shahmirzadi
Glottolog	maza1305  Mazanderani–Shahmirzadi maza1291  Mazanderani shah1253  Shahmirzadi
ELP	Shahmirzadi
Areas where Mazandarani is spoken as the mother tongue
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Mazandarani (مازندرانی), or Tabari (طبری),^[1] is an Iranian language of the Northwestern branch spoken by the Mazandarani people. As of 2019, there were over 2,320,000 native speakers.^[2] As a member of the Northwestern branch (the northern branch of Western Iranian), etymologically speaking, it is rather closely related to Gilaki and also related to Persian, which belongs to the Southwestern branch. Though the Persian language has influenced Mazandarani to a great extent, Mazandarani still survives as an independent language with a northwestern Iranian origin.^[3][4]

Mazandarani is closely related to Gilaki, and the two languages have similar vocabularies.^[5] The Gilaki and Mazandarani languages (but not other Iranian languages)^[6] share certain typological features with Caucasian languages (specifically the non-Indo-European South Caucasian languages),^[6][7][8] reflecting the history, ethnic identity, and close relatedness to the Caucasus region and Caucasian peoples of Mazandaranis and Gilak people.^[9][10]

Etymology[]

The name Mazanderani (and variants of it) derives from the name of the historical region of Mazandaran (Mazerun in Mazanderani), which was part of former Kingdom of Tapuria. People traditionally call their language Tabari, as the Tabari themselves do.^[11]

The name Tapuri / Tabari (which was the name of an ancient language spoken somewhere in former Tapuria) is now used in preference to the name Mazandarani by the young.

However, both Gilan and Mazanderan formed part of the state known as Tapuria.

The earliest references to the language of Mazandaran, called Tabari, are to be found in the works of the early Muslim geographers. Al-Muqaddasī (or Moqaisi, 10th century), for example, notes: "The languages of Komish and Gurgan are similar, they use hā, as in hā-dih and hāk-un, and they are sweet [to the ear], related to them is the language of Tabaristan, [similar] save for its speediness."^[12]

History[]

Among the living Iranian languages, Mazanderani has one of the longest written traditions, from the tenth to the fifteenth century. This status was achieved during the long reign of the independent and semi-independent rulers of Mazandaran in the centuries after the Arab invasion.^[13]

The rich literature of this language includes books such as Marzban Nameh (later translated into Persian) and the poetry of Amir Pazevari. Use of Mazanderani, however, has been in decline for some time. Its literary and administrative prominence had begun to diminish in favor of Persian by the time of the integration of Mazandaran into the national administration in the early seventeenth century.^[14]

Classification[]

The Mazanderani language is closely related to Gilaki and the two languages have similar vocabularies. In 1993, according to Ethnologue, there were more than three million native speakers of Mazanderani.^[15]

The dialects of Mazanderani are Saravi, Amoli, Baboli, Ghaemshahri, Chaloosi, Nuri, Shahsavari, Ghasrani, Shahmirzadi, Damavandi, Firoozkoohi, Astarabadi and Katouli.

Furthermore, an extinct variety, Gorgani, was documented back to the 14th and 15th centuries, from the writings of the Horufi movement.^[16]

Grammar[]

Mazanderani is an inflected and genderless language.^[17] It is SOV, but in some tenses it may be SVO, depending on the particular dialect involved.^[18][19]

Typology[]

Morphology[]

Like other modern Iranian languages there is no distinction between the dative and accusative cases, and the nominative in the sentence takes almost no indicators but may be inferred from word order (depending on dialect it may end in a/o/e). Since Mazanderani lacks articles, there is no inflection for nouns in the sentence (no modifications for nouns). For definition, nouns take the suffix e (me dətere meaning The daughter of mine while me dəter means my daughter). The indefinite article for single nouns is a-tā with tā for determination of number (a-tā kijā meaning a girl). There exist some remnants of old Mazanderani indicating that, in the nominative case, female nouns used to end in a, while male nouns ended in e (as in jənā meaning the woman and mərdē meaning the man). Grammatical gender is still present in certain modern languages closely related to Mazandarani such as Semnani, Sangesari and Zazaki.

Notable postpositions[]

Adpositions in Mazanderani are after words, while most of other languages including English and Persian have preposition systems in general. the only common postpositions that sometimes becoming preposition are Še and tā. Frequently used postpositions are:

postposition	meaning
dəle	in
re	of / to
je	from / by
vəse	for
tā	to
həmrā / jā	with
səri	on / above
bəne	under / below
pəli	near / about
vāri/ tarā	like
derū	among / inside

Suffixes[]

The list below is a sample list obtained from the Online Mazanderani-Persian dictionary.

Phonology[]

Vowels[]

	Front	Back
Close	i	u
Mid	e	o
Open	a	ɑ

/a/ may also range to a more back [ʌ].

Consonants[]

		Bilabial	Labio- dental	Dental	Alveolar	Palato- alveolar	Palatal	Velar	Uvular	Glottal
Stop	voiceless	p		t				k	q	(ʔ)
	voiced	b		d				ɡ	(ɢ)
Affricate	voiceless					t͡ʃ
	voiced					d͡ʒ
Fricative	voiceless		f	s		ʃ		x		h
	voiced		v	z		ʒ			(ʁ)
Nasal		m		n
Approximant		(w)			l		j
Tap/Flap					ɾ

/w/ appears as an allophone of /v/ in word-final position. /ɾ/ may appear as a voiceless trill in word-final position [r̥]. An occasional glottal stop /ʔ/ or voiceless uvular fricative /ʁ/ or voiced plosive /ɢ/ may also be heard, depending on the dialect.^[20][21]

Orthography[]

Mazanderani is commonly written in the Perso-Arabic script.^[22] However, some use the Roman alphabet, for example in SMS messages.^{[citation needed]}

Vocabulary[]

Spoken in a territory sheltered by the high Alborz mountains, Mazanderani preserves many ancient Indo-European words no longer in common use in modern Iranian languages such as Persian. Listed below are a few common Mazanderani words of archaic, Indo-European provenance with Vedic cognates.

English	Mazanderani	Persian	Vedic	Proto-Indo-European	Example of
new	neo	no / now	návas	*néwos	adjective
great	gat	gozorg, gonde, got			adjective
better	better	behtar			adverb
been	bine	budeh			auxiliary verb
being	bien	budan	bhū-	*bʰuH-	infinitive of verb
moon	moong / mong	mâh	mā́s	*mḗh₁n̥s	noun
daughter	deter	dokhtar	dúhitā	*dʰugh₂tḗr	noun
cow	go / gu / guw	gâv	gáuṣ	*gʷṓws	noun
my	me / mi (before the noun)	am (after the noun), om	máma	*méne	verb
gab	gab	gap			verb
right	rast	râst			adjective

Mazandarani is rich in synonyms, some such nouns also retaining the gender they possessed in Indo-European times: for instance the words miš, gal, gerz all have the meaning of mouse, although they are not all of the same gender. While many Indo-Iranian languages use a masculine noun taking such related forms as muš or muska or mušk, in Mazandarani the most commonly used name for the mouse is the feminine noun gal.^[vague]

Another example relates to the cow, the most important animal in the symbolism of Indo-European culture: in Mazanderani there are more than 1000 recognized words used for different types of cow. The table below lists some specimens of this rich vocabulary. In Mazandaran there are even contests held to determine those with the greatest knowledge of this bovine nomenclature.

Mazanderani name	Meaning	Mazanderani name	Meaning
ahl	Bull subdued[clarification needed]	nū dūş	Young plough bull used for the first time
āhy	Black-eyed cow	paei varzā	Single bull used for ploughing
alaşt	Miner's tool, ending in two wooden arcs	parū	Cattle for ploughing
baKhte bāri	Bullock and traces	raji	A cow that is ready to mate
bāreng	Reddish-brown cow	raş go	Crimson cow with black spots
batkoniye	Castrated male bovine cattle to eliminate it from washing down[clarification needed]	raş jūnkā	Young bull with red and black streaks
būr gele	Yellow / red cow	raş kamer	Brown-and-white cow
būr şāx	Sharp, red points of a cow's horns	sārū	Bull with a white forehead
būrek	Light yellow bull	sārū	Bull with a white forehead
būreng	Blonde cow	şelāb beze gozūr	The new wide calf rain caused a sharp volley crumbled[clarification needed]
būrmango	Fawn cow	selnāz	Cow streaked with white from nose to tail
das kare	Place where bull fights held	sembe band	Ox bearing a wooden yoke
de jet	Rust-coloured cow killed by two bulls	serxe sel	Red cow with a white stripe from neck to tail
demes mār	Cow with a two-year-old calf	setāre	Black-and-white-spotted cow
demis mār	Two-year-old bull calf	seyā bare	Black cow with a white forehead.
dūşt hākerden	Provoke a bull to attack	seyā kachal	Black cow with black spots on the tail end of the frontal[clarification needed]
elā elā şāğ	Cow with horns growing in opposite directions	seyā sel	Black cow with a white line running along its spine to its tail
elā kal	Cow with large open horns	seyel	White-bellied cow
elā şiro	Cow with spreading horns	şir vej	Gelded calf or bull
elāşāx	A bull that has large open horns	şirū	A cow with a white head and tail
emūj	Ox that once trained for ploughing	şūkā	Pale yellow cow
eşte	Pair of cows for work	tā şū	Miner's cow, only to be closed[clarification needed]
ezāli	Cow that is bred to plough	tağr in	Pair of four-year-old cows inseminated naturally
fal	Cow ready for mating	tal go	A cow that is ready for ploughing
fares	Ox that has not been taught to portage	tāle mār	Cow with bells hung around his neck
ğalfer	Bovine of a yellowish colour	tarise	Cow whose first calf is female and has reached two years of age
jandek	Bull bison that used for mating	tersekā	Two-and-a-half-year-old cow that is ready to mate
jānekā	Strong, young bull left ungelded for the purposes of breeding or combat	teş kūle	A young bull
jinekā	Young bull	teşk	Young bull that is not yet ready for ploughing
jonde kā sare	Place where young bulls and breeding cattle are raised	teşkel	Small bull
jone kā kole	Bullock less than two years old that has done no work	titāppeli mango	Black and white cow
jūndekā	Bullock more than two years old that has done no work	tolom	Young cow - heifer
jūnekkā	Young bulls	tūz kel	bull
jūnekkā jang	Quarrel between young bulls	varzā	Bullock
Khāmod	Ox plough	xāl dār	Bovine with bicoloured coat
lāch kal	Cow with open horns	xes xesi go	A cow that lies down on the ground while working
lachchi	Open cow horns that grow in opposite directions	xetūr	Alarmed cow
lase sar gū	Cow that goes to everyone	xik chaf	A cow that refuses to give milk to calves or its owner
lūş beni	Bridegroom's gift cow	zām borde	Cow missed after giving birth
māgū	A cow	zanā gū	Cow fighting with its horns
mango	Relating to lactating cows	zar xāl	Black cow with yellow spots
mārşan	Young cow	zargele	Yellow cow
mārū	Cow with a white forehead	zemessūni kar	Cow that leans due to food shortages in the winter
merem	Lovely young cow	zingāl	Black cow with white legs

Influences exerted by Mazanderani[]

Modern-day of Iran[]

In Iran, there are some popular companies and products, like Rika (son) or Kija (daughter), which take their name from Mazanderani words.^[23]

In non-Iranian languages[]

There are some Mazanderani loanwords in the Turkmen language.^[24]

Specimen[]

áme kεrkā šúnnε nεfār-sar. nεfār-sar xεsέnnε. badími nεfār-sar-e čεl-o-ču hamε bapíssεnε. bāútεmε, “vačε jān! injε, kεlum-e pali, mé-vesse έttā kεrk-kεli dεrεs hā́kεn!” vε εm nεmāšun ke pe dar-biārdε, hamun šō badímε bεmúnε sεre piεr o vačε. ande-tumi piεr o vačε bεmúnε sεre, nεmāz kέrdεnε, qεzā xέrdεnε; ba:d εz nεmāz šínε ún-var, sāāt-e čār harkεt kέrdεnε.

Our chickens go onto the nefār and sleep on it. [Once] we noted that the wood of the nefār was all rotten. I told [my son], “Dear child! Here, next to the stable, make me a chicken coop.” In the evening that [my son] was setting the foundation, the father [-in-law] and [his] son came home. As soon as the father and son came home, they would say their prayers, eat something, and then, after the prayers, they would go over there (to the next room); then at four o’clock they would set off.

(from Maryam Borjian and Habib Borjian, “Ethno-Linguistic Materials from Rural Mazandaran [: Mysterious Memories of a Woman],” Iran and the Caucasus 11/2, 2007, pp. 226–254.)

ozεrε-vâ énε dámbe sεvâí iấnnε búye dεlbárrε dεvấi qam o qossέye dεl vónε kεnârí me jấne gεl dénε búye xεdâí
	At break of dawn blows the cool breeze. Bearing the healing odor of the beloved. Heart's sorrow will depart. My dear flower has the sweet savour of God.
basutέ sinέye miónnε hấreš! tévεsse – nấzεnin! – baímε nâxεš tε armúne dέl i, εy nâzεnin yâr! tévεsse mέsle bεlbεl zámbε nâlεš
	Behold,a heart's core ravaged by the flame! For you – O worthy of love! – I am sick with longing. You are the heart's aspiration, O beloved! For you, like the nightingale, I moan.
Dεl-e armun “Heart’s Aspiration” Rezaqoli Mohammadi Kordekheyli Transcribed and translated by: Habib Borjian mosalmunun! mέrε šabgir varέnnε āx, mέrε bā kamεr-e haftir varέnnε mέrε bavέrdεnε Tεrkεmun-e dam Tεrkεmun kāfεr o gεlilε be-ra:m Muslims! They are carrying me off at the crack of dawn. O, they are taking me away with a pistol on the[ir] waist. They bear me where the Turkmen [tribes] dwell. Turkmen [are] unbelievers and the bullet [is] ruthless. gεtε, ašun xō badimā mεn še Ali-rε sio dasmāl davέsso še gali-rε age xā́nnε bā́urεn ámi badi-rε bázεne xεrusεk šέme gali-rε volvol sar-e dār gέnε εy zāri-zāri me gol dāš báio sarbāz-e Sāri He would say, Last night I dreamed of my Ali. He [had] wrapped a black kerchief [round] his throat. If it chance they wish us harm, May croup-cough seize your throat! The nightingale on the tree constantly bemoans (?) My dear brother drafted in Sāri. Quatrains sung by Sabura Azizi, transcribed and translated by Habib Borjian; Ref. Habib Borjian and Maryam Borjian, “Mysterious Memories of a Woman: Ethno-Linguistic Materials from Rural Mazandaran,” Iran and the Caucasus 11/2, 2007.

References[]

In dates given below, A.P. denotes the Iranian calendar, the solar calendar (365 days per year) which is official in Iran and Afghanistan.

Further reading[]

• Borjian, Habib (2006). "The Oldest Known Texts in New Tabari: The Collection of Aleksander Chodzko". Archiv Orientální. 74 (2): 153–171.
• ______________. 2006. A Mazanderani account of the Babi Incident at Shaikh Tabarsi. Iranian Studies 39(3):381–400.
• ______________. 2006. Textual sources for the study of Tabari language. I. Olddocuments. Guyesh-shenâsi 4.
• ______________. 2008. Tabarica II: Some Mazanderani Verbs. Iran and the Caucasus 12(1):73–82.
• ______________. Two Mazanderani Texts from the Nineteenth Century. Studia Iranica 37(1):7–50.
• Borjian, Habib; Borjian, Maryam (2007). "Ethno-Linguistic Materials from Rural Mazandaran: Mysterious Memories of a Woman". Iran and the Caucasus. 11 (2): 226–254. doi:10.1163/157338407X265469.
• Borjian, Habib; Borjian, Maryam (2008). "The Last Galesh Herdsman: Ethno-Linguistic Materials from South Caspian Rainforests". Iranian Studies. 41 (3): 365–402. doi:10.1080/00210860801981336.
• Le Coq, P. 1989. Les dialects Caspiens et les dialects du nord-ouest de l'Iran. In Rüdiger Schmitt (ed.), Compendium linguarum Iranicarum. Wiesbaden: L. Reichert. pp. 296–312.
• Nawata, Tetsuo. 1984. Māzandarāni. Tokyo: Institute for the Study of Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa. Series: Asian and African Grammatical Manual; 17. 45 + iii pp.
• Shokri, Giti. 1990. Verb Structure in Sāri dialect. Farhang, 6:217–231. Tehran: Institute for Humanities and Cultural Studies.
• _________. 1995/1374 A.P. Sārī Dialect. Tehran: Institute for Humanities and Cultural Studies.
• Shokri, Giti. 2006. Ramsarī Dialect. Tehran: Institute for Humanities and Cultural Studies.
• Yoshie, Satoko. 1996. Sārī Dialect. Tokyo: Institute for the Study of Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa. Series: Iranian Studies; 10.

External links[]

Mazanderani edition of Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

• Society for Iranian Linguistics. Among other services, archives PDFs of articles from linguistics journals, including those written in Persian.
• Institute for Humanities and Cultural Studies, Tehran.
• Audio recordings available for Mazanderani
• Dictionary of Mazanderani, with translations into Saravi, Baboli, and Amoli dialects